Julia Stiles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Julia Stiles
Stiles in 2007
Born	Julia O'Hara Stiles (1981-03-28) March 28, 1981 (age 44) New York City, U.S.
Education	Columbia University (BA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
Spouse(s)	Preston J. Cook ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	3

Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. She started acting at age 11. Her first roles were with the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York.

Julia's first film role was at 15 in I Love You, I Love You Not (1996). She then had a main role in Wicked (1998). For this, she won an award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. She also appeared in the TV miniseries The '60s (1999).

Julia became well-known for her roles in teen movies. These include 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Down to You (2000), and Save the Last Dance (2001). She has won a Teen Choice Award and two MTV Movie Awards. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

She also acted in films like The Business of Strangers (2001) and Mona Lisa Smile (2003). Julia became famous worldwide as Nicky Parsons in the Bourne movie series (2002–2016). Other notable films include Hamlet (2000) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). She also appeared in Orphan: First Kill (2022).

Outside of movies, Julia played Lumen Pierce on the fifth season of Dexter (2010). This role earned her nominations for a Golden Globe and an Emmy. From 2012 to 2014, she starred in the web series Blue. She won two IAWTV Awards for her acting in Blue. From 2017 to 2020, she was Georgina Ryland in the Sky Atlantic series Riviera. She also starred in the Amazon series The Lake (2022–2023).

Early Life and Education

Julia Stiles was born in New York City on March 28, 1981. Her mother, Judith Newcomb Stiles, was an artist. Her father, John O'Hara, was a businessman. Julia is the oldest of three children. Her younger siblings are John Junior and Jane, who is also an actress. Julia has English, Irish, and Italian family roots. She began acting at age 11 with the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club.

Julia graduated from Columbia University in 2005. She earned a degree in English literature. She almost turned down her first Bourne movie role because of college exams. She even took a semester off for the first two Bourne films. In 2010, she received a John Jay Award. This award honors Columbia College alumni for their professional achievements.

Career Highlights

Early Film and TV Roles

Julia started auditioning for TV shows in 1993. She began trying out for films in 1996. Her first acting job was in 1993 on the mystery show Ghostwriter. She played a character named Erica Dansby.

Her first movie role was in I Love You, I Love You Not (1996). She acted alongside Claire Danes and Jude Law. She also had small parts in The Devil's Own (1997) and Wide Awake (1998). Her first main role was in Wicked (1998). In this film, she played a teen girl who might have hurt her mother. A critic called her "the darling of the 1998 Sundance Film Festival." She then starred in the TV miniseries The '60s in 1999.

Becoming a Teen Movie Star

At 17, Julia was cast as Kat Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You. She starred with Heath Ledger in this movie. It was a modern version of The Taming of the Shrew. She won an MTV Movie Award for her breakthrough performance. Critics also named her the most promising new actress that year.

Her next main role was in Down to You (2000). This movie was not liked by critics. However, Julia and her co-star Freddie Prinze, Jr. were nominated for a Teen Choice Award. This was for their chemistry on screen.

Julia then appeared in two more movies based on Shakespearean plays. She played Ophelia in Hamlet (2000). She also played Desdemona in O (2001). O was a version of Othello set in a boarding school.

Success with Save the Last Dance and Bourne

Julia's next big success was Save the Last Dance (2001). She played an aspiring ballerina. Her character moves to Chicago after her mother dies. At her new school, she learns hip-hop dance. This helps her get into the Juilliard School. She won two more MTV awards for this role. She also won a Teen Choice Award for a fight scene. Rolling Stone magazine called her "the coolest co-ed." Julia said she did all her own dancing in the film.

Julia Stiles being interviewed in 2007

Julia also appeared in State and Main (2000). She played a teen girl who charms a film actor. In The Business of Strangers (2001), she played a clever secretary. Julia has said the Bourne movies were very important for her career. She played Nicolette "Nicky" Parsons. Her small role in The Bourne Identity (2002) grew larger. She had bigger parts in The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).

Between the Bourne films, she was in Mona Lisa Smile (2003). She played Joan, a student at Wellesley College. Her art professor, played by Julia Roberts, encourages her to become a lawyer. Julia also played a college student in The Prince and Me (2004). Her character falls in love with a Danish prince. In 2006, Julia starred in The Omen. This was a remake of a 1976 horror film. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) is her highest-earning film so far.

Recent Film and TV Work

Julia acted in Between Us (2012). She also starred in the comedy It's a Disaster (2012). This film premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival. Julia had a small but important role in the 2013 film Closed Circuit. She also starred in the thriller Out of the Dark (2014).

In 2015, Julia returned as Nicky Parsons in Jason Bourne. This was the fifth movie in the Bourne series. She also played Courtney in The Great Gilly Hopkins (2016).

Stage Performances

Julia's first theater roles were with Ridge Theater in Manhattan. She performed in works by John Moran from 1993 to 1998. In 2002, she played Viola in Twelfth Night. This was a Shakespeare in the Park production.

In 2004, she made her West End debut in London. She starred with Aaron Eckhart in Oleanna. She played the role of Carol again in 2009. This production moved to Broadway's John Golden Theatre.

Other Projects

Julia appeared in Cyndi Lauper's music video "Sally's Pigeons" in 1993. In 2001, she hosted Saturday Night Live. She also played then-President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna Bush in a skit. MTV featured her in its Diary series in 2003. She was also pranked on Punk'd in 2004.

In 2010, Julia had a big role in 10 episodes of Dexter. For this, she was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy.

In 2012, Julia starred in the web series Blue. She played a single mother named Blue. She works to support her 13-year-old son. For her work on Blue, Julia won two IAWTV Awards in 2013 and 2014.

Julia played Maisy-May in the Canadian Amazon Prime series The Lake. Maisy-May is a stepdaughter who gets the family cottage. This upsets her stepbrother Justin. The first season came out in summer 2022.

Directing Films

Julia made her directing debut with a short film called Raving. It starred Zooey Deschanel. It premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

Julia's first full-length movie as a director is Wish You Were Here. It was released in January 2025.

Personal Life

Julia has worked with Habitat for Humanity. She helped build houses in Costa Rica. She has also worked with Amnesty International. This was to raise awareness about the tough conditions for young immigrants. In 2004, Marie Claire magazine wrote about her trip to a youth center in Pennsylvania.

Julia used to be a vegan. She said she stopped because she developed anemia. It was hard to get enough nutrients while traveling. She has described herself as a feminist. She wrote about this topic in The Guardian.

She is a fan of baseball and the New York Mets. She threw the first pitch at one of their games in 2006.

In September 2017, Julia married Preston J. Cook. He is a camera assistant whom she met while working on Blackway. They have three children together.

Filmography (selected)

Film

Television

Web series

Theme park

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Julia Stiles para niños